Thousand Oaks makes 307 mass shootings in 311 days

In a video obtained by Associated Press, successive shots were heard at the shooting scene at Southern California bar late on Wednesday. A sheriff says at least 13 people were killed, including a sheriff's sergeant and the gunman. (Nov. 8)
AP

People comfort each other at the scene of a mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on Nov. 8, 2018.(Photo: Marvin O. Jimenez)

When the thunder of gunfire broke through the revelry of a country music dance hall packed with young people kicking back on "college night," Thousand Oaks, California, added its name to a dark roster: The site of the 307th mass shooting in the U.S. this year.

And an even grimmer statistic was marked: The 307th mass shooting took place on the 311th day of the year – an average of a deadly incident almost every day so far this year.

The Wednesday night massacre at the Borderline Bar and Grill, which left 13 people dead, including the gunman, became the nation's latest mass shooting, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, a not-for-profit organization that provides online public access to information about gun-related violence.

In all, 328 people died in those incidents, and 1,251 were injured, according to the data. The numbers include incidents in which four or more people were shot or killed, not including the shooters, according to the archive.

The rampage also came during three weeks of hate and terror that have jolted the country: a bloodbath at a synagogue in Pittsburgh that left 11 elderly people dead and a series of 16 pipe bombs mailed to prominent Democrats, CNN and critics of President Donald Trump.

The incident was also the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. in 2018 since 17 classmates and teachers were gunned down at a Parkland, Florida, school on Valentine's Day.

That shooting galvanized a student-led anti-gun movement that turned young people into activists. Just 24 hours before the spree in Thousand Oaks, Parkland survivors had celebrated the toppling of some NRA-backed candidates in Tuesday's midterm elections.

Thursday morning, one of those students, Cameron Kasky, 17, lamented the pain of witnessing more bloodshed:

“The Mayor of Thousand Oaks is completely right," Kasky tweeted. "No community is truly safe from these mass shootings. We’ve seen this far too many times. How many anomalies are there going to be? How many times are we going to here (hear) “nobody would’ve thought it would happen here?”

Incredibly heartbroken thinking about what the people of Thousand Oaks are going through. Thankful for law enforcement for neutralizing the situation. I can’t even grasp the fact that 11 more innocent people are about to be buried.

• Oct. 1, 2017: Stephen Paddock, 64, fired more than 1,000 rounds from a 32nd-floor suite at a nearby hotel on concertgoers at the Route 81 Harvest Music Festival, killing 58 people and leaving hundreds injured. Paddock was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His motive remains unknown.

• June 12, 2016: Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old security guard, kills 49 people and wounds 58 others at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that was hosting a Latin night. Mateen was killed by police. It was the deadliest terror attack in the U.S. since 9/11 and at the time was the worst mass shooting in the nation by a single gunman.

• Dec. 2, 2015: Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, a married couple living in Redlands, California, opened fire at a San Bernardino County Department of Public Health training event and holiday party, killing 14 people and injuring 22 in a matter of minutes. Farook, an American-born U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent, worked at the health department. Malik had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in a Facebook post before the shooting.

• Nov. 5, 2009: U.S. Army Maj. Nidal Hasan fatally shot 13 people and injured 30 others at Fort Hood near Killeen, Texas. Hasan, a psychiatrist, appeared to have been radicalized by an Islamic cleric. He was convicted and sentenced to death.

• Sept. 16, 2013: Gunman Aaron Alexis, 34, fatally shot 12 people and injured three others at the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C. He was later killed by police.

• July 20, 2012: James Holmes gunned down 12 people in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater. Last year he was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder and sentenced to 12 consecutive life sentences plus 3,318 years without parole.

• Oct. 1, 2015: Christopher Harper-Mercer, a 26-year-old student at Umpqua Community College near Roseburg, Oregon, shot an assistant professor and eight students in a classroom. After a shootout with police, he committed suicide.

• June 18, 2015: A gunman opened fire at a weekly Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine people were killed, including pastor Clementa Pinckney; a 10th victim survived. The morning after the attack, police arrested a suspect, Dylann Roof, 21, who said he wanted to start a race war. In December 2016, Roof was convicted of 33 federal hate crimes charges, and in January he was sentenced to death.

• July 16, 2015: Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez opened fire on two military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The first was a drive-by shooting at a recruiting center; the second was at a U.S. Navy Reserve center. Four Marines and a Navy sailor died; a Marine recruit officer and a police offer were wounded. Abdulazeez was killed by police in a gunfight.

• Nov. 27, 2015: A gunman attacked a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing a police officer and two civilians and injuring nine others. Robert Lewis Dear was taken into custody after a five-hour standoff and charged with first-degree murder.

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Cheryl Tate, center right, the mother of Cody Coffman, is comforted by a mourner as her son, Chayse, looks at the coffin at a funeral service for Coffman on Nov. 14, 2018, in Camarillo, Calif. The 22-year-old was among a dozen people killed in a Nov. 7, 2018, shooting at a country music bar in Thousand Oaks, Calif. JAE C. HONG, AP

A man and childe observe the mass shooting victims' memorial grows as the FBI and Ventura County Sheriff's office continue their investigation at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Sunday. Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY NETWORK

Sgt. Ron Helus was the first officer through the door at the Borderline Bar and Grill, and he was gunned down along with 11 others, last Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY NETWORK

A rose sits atop the cross for Justin Meeks, as the mass shooting victims memorial grows in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Twelve people were shot and killed Wednesday by gunman Ian David Long who opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY NETWORK

Thousand Oaks councilman and pastor Rob McCoy comforts his congregation during Sunday morning services at Godspeak Calvary Chapel on Nov. 11, 2018, in Newbury Park, Calif. Twelve people were shot and killed Wednesday by gunman Ian David Long who opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY NETWORK

Pictures of the shooting victims at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, Calif. are shown in the sanctuary of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park, Calif., as councilman and pastor Rob McCoy speaks during the Sunday service. Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY NETWORK

Thousand Oaks councilman and pastor Rob McCoy honor the mass shooting victims during Sunday morning services at Godspeak Calvary Chapel on Nov. 11, 2018, in Newbury Park, Calif. The congregation included fire and shooting survivors, and shooting victim families. Twelve people were shot and killed Wednesday by gunman Ian David Long who opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY NETWORK

The congregation, which includes fire and shooting survivors as well as family members of victims, offer comfort and prayers during Sunday morning services at Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park. Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY NETWORK

Mourners paid their respects at a growing memorial as the FBI and Ventura County Sheriff’s Office continue their investigation at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Twelve people were shot and killed Wednesday by gunman Ian David Long who opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

The FBI and local law enforcement continue their investigation at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Twelve people were shot and killed Wednesday by gunman Ian David Long who opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

Players wear T-shirts bearing the names of the 12 victims killed in Wednesday night's shooting at a country bar in Thousand Oaks, Calif., as they listen to the national anthem before an NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Los Angeles. Jae C. Hong, AP

A car is returned to its owner that was parked at the shooting scene as the FBI and Ventura County Sheriff's office continue their investigation at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

A memorial grows as the FBI and Ventura County Sheriff's office continue their investigation at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

A small memorial of flowers and candles grow at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza as the FBI and Ventura County Sheriff's office continue their investigation at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

A mourning band covers the shield of a Deputy Sheriff on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, after Ron Helus, a sergeant at the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office was mortally wounded at the Borderline Bar and Grill mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

Deanna Johnson wipes away tears during a candlelight vigil organized by area students for victims of the Borderline Bar and Grill mass shooting. The vigil was held at the Ventura County Government Center on Friday, Nov. 9, 2108. Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

Deanna Johnson, Kaylee Peterson and Austin Peterson grieve at a candlelight vigil on Friday, Nov. 9, 2108 for the victims of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

Shooting survivors hug outside the Borderline Bar and Grill as their wait to claim your vehicles on Friday, Nov. 9, 2108, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Twelve people were shot and killed Wednesday by gunman Ian David Long who opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic- USA TODAY Network

Marshall Lybarger, 22, a survivor of the mass shooting talks about his experince on Friday, Nov. 9, 2108, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Twelve people were shot and killed Wednesday by gunman Ian David Long who opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic- USA TODAY Network

Chaplain Manuel Castro, right, prays with activists Sandy and Lonnie Phillips at a police barricade near the mass shooting site at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. The Phillips lost their daughter, Jessica Ghawi, when she was murdered in a movie theater shooting in Aurora, CO. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY Network

A candle and flowers are left at a growing memorial near the site of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Friday, Nov. 9, 2108, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY Network

Ben Campbell, a survivor of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill, says his brother survived the Vegas shooting last year during a interview on Friday, Nov. 9, 2108, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY Network

A line stretches out of the parking lot and down the block during a blood donation drive on Nov. 8, 2018, at La Reina High School in Thousand Oaks, Calif. in the aftermath of the mass shooting. ROBERT HANASHIRO, USA TODAY

The scene outside a "family reunification center" where family members of victims are gathered to be notified of their loved one's status on Nov. 8, 2018 in Thousand Oaks, Calif. ROBERT HANASHIRO, USA TODAY

Alexis Tait, left, who lost a friend in the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill cries with Rachel Berg as the hearse carrying the body of Sergeant Ron Helus passes by in Thousand Oaks, Calif. on Nov. 8, 2018. MIKE NELSON, EPA-EFE

Family members are saluted by law enforcement officers after the hearse carrying the body of Sergeant Ron Helus arrived at the medical examiner's office in Ventura, Calif. on Nov. 8, 2018. EUGENE GARCIA, EPA-EFE

Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Armando Viera, center, consoles an unidentified woman on a freeway overpass after a motorcade with the body of Ventura County Sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus went by Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Newbury Park, Calif. Helus was fatally shot while responding to a mass shooting at a country music bar in Southern California. Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

Grieving people are led into the Thousand Oaks Teen Center where families have gathered after a deadly shooting at a bar on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Multiple people were shot and killed late Wednesday by the gunman who opened fire at the Borderline Bar & Grill, which was holding a weekly country music dance night for college students. Richard Vogel, AP

Firefighters salute from an overpass as a motorcade with the body of Ventura County Sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus goes by Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Newbury Park, Calif. Helus was fatally shot while responding to a mass shooting at a country music bar in Southern California. Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

An honor guard salutes the body of Ventura County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Ron Helus before it departs the Los Robles Regional Medical Center Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Helus was killed after a gunman opened fire the night before inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on "college night." Mark J. Terrill, AP

Pepperdine University freshman Alaina Housley was one of the victims killed at a mass shooting at Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018. A statement issued to USA TODAY on behalf of Mowry-Housley and her husband, former Fox News correspondent Adam Housley, confirmed their niece was a victim in the mass shooting that left 12 dead, inside a country music dance bar. Pepperdine Graphic

This 2017 photo from the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows Ian David Long. Authorities said the Marine combat veteran opened fire Wednesday evening, Nov. 7, 2018, at a country music bar in Southern California, killing multiple people before apparently taking his own life. California Department of Motor Vehicles via AP

Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean speaks to reporters near the scene in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, where a gunman opened fire the previous night inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people. Mark J. Terrill, AP

FBI investigators arrive outside the house of shooting suspect David Ian Long in Newbury Park, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. Authorities said the former Marine opened fire at a country music bar in Southern California on Wednesday evening. Richard Vogel, AP

An FBI agent talks to a potential witness as they stand near the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on "college night." Mark J. Terrill, AP

Sgt. Ron Helus, of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, died after being shot while responding to a mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Nov. 8, 2018. Ventura County Sheriff's Office

People comfort each other at the scene in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on "college night," on Nov. 8, 2018. Mark J. Terrill, AP

In this image taken from video, a victim is carried from the scene of a shooting, Wednesday evening, Nov. 7, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. A hooded gunman dressed entirely in black opened fire on a crowd at a country dance bar holding a weekly "college night" in Southern California, killing multiple people and sending hundreds fleeing including some who used barstools to break windows and escape, authorities said Thursday. The gunman was later found dead at the scene. RMG News via AP

Police cars are seen outside a country music bar and dance hall in Thousand Oaks, Calif. after a gunman barged into a large, crowded venue and opened fire late Nov. 7, 2018, killing at least 12 people. JAVIER TOVAR, AFP/Getty Images

People comfort each other at the scene in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on "college night," on Nov. 8, 2018. Mark J. Terrill, AP

APSheriff's deputies speak to a potential witness as they stand near the scene in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on "college night," on Nov. 8, 2018. Mark J. Terrill, AP